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Carmen Falcone on Getting Used to Revisions!

Let's extend our welcome to author Carmen Falcone as she talks about revisions!

Revisions:
Get Used to Them

One thing that I both dread and crave is that e-mail
from my editor with the edits. I hope I’m not alone in thinking we, authors,
live for moments like this; the editor is the first gateway to the readers (who
are waving at the finish line), so we learn from them, work with them and, at
times, persuade them.

Before signing a contract with Entangled, I
experienced getting feedback from critique partners, evaluations from freelance
editors and whatnot. Those extra sets of eyes helped me a great deal – and
still do, of course. I truly believe writing doesn’t have to be a lonely
journey, and in fact it’s much better when it’s a joint effort. You write, but
you get your writing buddies to assess your flaws and strengths, and sometimes
even that supportive friend who doesn’t have a clue about writing in your genre
can have a crucial part in your writing journey just by being there and
cheering you on.

That said, as I learned the revisions from an editor
are the ones where the stakes are really high. Why? Because it’s easier to
bypass someone else’s opinion before your work is contracted, whether that
person is right or wrong. I’ll never forget when a critique partner told me my
story lacked emotion, and I thought, “Ah, maybe not.” And I was lazy and didn’t
really implement all the changes she suggested because I was so connected to
the story, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t. Yet, when my editor read my
submission, she told me I had to up the emotion and conflict; otherwise, it was
a no-go.

So. This is what I usually do when I get edits from
an editor. First of all, I read the entire letter and comments. Then, I get
some wine. Remember that Hemingway said one must write drunk and edit sober?
C’mon, guys, editing drunk is just SO much fun. J

Anyway. Seriously now… I usually do three or four
rounds before I send it back to the editor. The first one, I read everything
like I mentioned above. Then, I make some notes with Post-Its of the general
things I should change (the big-ticket items), and so I won’t be super
overwhelmed, I go through the small stuff (like word choice, etc.) and accept
changes. By the time I go back to the book, I have a better idea about what
needs to be done about the big-ticket items (motivation, conflict, goal, characterization,
etc.) and change them. Phew. Then I do a final read-through before hitting send
and starting to bite my nails.

So there you go: a glimpse into my revision process.
What about you? If you’re a reader, what do you imagine edits to be? And if you’re
a writer, what is your process?

For just one night, Georgia Taylor wants to forget about her demanding
job and the everyday struggles of being a single mom. Her track record with men
is pitiful, but that’s fine because her responsibilities don’t leave room for
love anyway. The new online dating site is perfect for what she’s after.

But Georgia’s plans are crushed when Brent Turner, aka Sexy Dad and
father of her daughter’s classmate, turns out to be her internet date,
therefore, eliminating any possibility for a night without consequences.

All of
Brent Turner’s honorable intentions fly out the window when he sees highly
strung “Super Mom” waiting for her date at the bar. Determined to win Georgia’s
trust and show her a good time, their no-strings evening promises to become so
much more…until, that is, she discovers what he's really up to.

BIO:

Carmen Falcone learned at an early age
that fantasizing about fictional

characters beat doing math homework any day.
Brazilian by birth and traveler by nature, she moved to Central Texas after
college and met her broody Swiss husband, living proof that opposites attract.
She found in writing her deepest passion and the best excuse to avoid the
healthy lifestyle everyone keeps talking about. When she is not lost in the
world of romance, she enjoys spending time with her two kids, being walked by
her three crazy pugs, reading, catching up with friends, and chatting with
random people in the checkout line.

Carmen is right - revising is just a part of the writer's life. It is something we need to be very comfortable with, that's for sure. I like to make sure I have dark chocolate on hand when I am working on revisions. :)

Thanks, Cherie! You are right, the first one is super hard. Especially when we think we nailed the story, and BAM, there's still so much work to be done. I am though super grateful for my crit partners!

Thanks, Teresa! The stakes are higher when you're doing revisions on a contracted book in my humble opinion. That's not a bad thing, as I am so thankful and I've learned so much from my editors. They are truly wonderful.

Ha - mostly I allow myself a wee bit of a pout - what? My beautiful story wasn't perfect? Once I get that out of my system, I start focusing on how I'm going to implement the editorial suggestions. I don't want to just make changes. I want the story to come out the other end stronger.

Hi, Irene! Thanks so much for leaving a comment. You are right, it's about making the story stronger. I also think the more you get to know your editor, the better, Sometimes, to achieve a certain result you really don't need a whole lot -- yet other times, it's a complete overhaul. I always pester my editor with questions to make sure I won't do too little or too much, lol.

Great post, Carmen! I have to do a lot of revision passes too. This year, for the first time I'll be giving a WIP to my agent and get her feedback. But first it has to go through all my CPs. And before that it has to go through me, and I'm NEVER satisfied.

Oddly, revisions from my editor don't bother me. What I HATE as a freelance writer is writing a 500-word article, then getting an email from the client saying, "This is not at all what I wanted." Often that email has an "end of the world" tone! Those are painful. Editors are much pickier--but they are usually MUCH more professional than many of the clients I deal with. Clients don't know how to talk to writers...editors are almost always much more sensitive about their comments, even when they're telling you a scene doesn't work at all. I've had clients call my writing dull, shallow, a mess... I had one client say my file was full of misspellings. I went over the thing with a fine-toothed comb and never found one misspelling so, to this day, I have no idea what he was talking about! I made some corrections, but I didn't change any spellings, and he published it...so I'm wondering if maybe he was dyslexic or something...

Hello Stephanie! Wow, thanks for stopping by and joining the conversation. You brought some very valid points. A lot of editors are also writers or have written at some point, which I think helps. Maybe your clients don't relate thus don't know what the heck they're talking about? Lol. I'm a translator, and when I deal with translation agencies versus direct clients, there is such a big difference.

It's hard to remember, when someone suggests your baby isn't perfect, that your editor really is there to help you make it better. I think when we catch that vision and really go forward with it in mind, the edits aren't quite as painful. =)

Hi,Elizabeth! I usually have 2-3 Cps and I think that's all I can handle. I'm a part of a big crit group (with 12-15 members) and while I love to go and assist my fellow writers, I don't know if I could get that amount of opinions all at once. Lol! I would be so overwhelmed! I really respect writers who can digest it all

I love what you say about reading your editor's letter and then drinking some wine. I'd do the same thing. But we writers can get so close to what we write, it's really tough to look at our works objectively. Happily, I have some honest friends who can give me honest reactions, and that always helps to get my book to a more professional level.

Oh, and I love the title "A Night of Misbehaving." It's on my list now.

I agree with what you said, it's hard to look at our work objectively at first, because we are so invested. Writing buddies and friends can be a great support system. Along with the wine or chocolate of course! Ha!

I loved hearing from Carmen. I just finished doing edits for my editor and it was quite a process. Definitely had lots of work to do before hitting the send button! :) It was amazing to watch the story get better and my editor's advice was so helpful.